The Land Transport Authority announced on Friday (Feb
17) that the next certificate of entitlement (COE) tender will be
delayed for two days, triggering speculation that major changes
affecting car buyers are afoot.
The LTA said bidding will begin next Wednesday and end
on Friday, instead of the usual Monday to Wednesday exercise
period.
Motor traders expect announcements to be made next
Monday on Budget day to have an impact on prices.
"There must be some structural changes coming," said a
veteran motor trader who declined to be named. "Otherwise, they
won't need to postpone bidding."
There is also talk that the Government will lower the
annual vehicle population growth rate further. It is now 0.25 per
cent, and the possibility of zero growth has been raised before by
Senior Minister of State, Josephine Teo.
The other widely expected change is to the Carbon
Emissions-based Vehicle Scheme. As first reported by The Straits
Times, the Government is looking to inject more criteria into the
scheme which dishes out tax rebates and surcharges according to how
much carbon dioxide a car emits.
New pollutants being looked into are hydrocarbons, fine
particulate matter, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.
And with recently announced rules for private-hire
cars, there is also talk the government might bar private-hire
operators from bidding directly for COEs. Private-hire players such
as Uber and Grab have been blamed for pushing COE prices up in the
last two years when they started buying new cars to grow their
fleets.
Taxi companies are barred from bidding. Instead they
pay a prevailing quota premium for new cabs.
ST